Beer selection: Small liqour vs larger chains

Live in Houston and ended up getting my stash of Bourbon County in a small town in Louisiana, they for some reason (InBev) have a great supply of Goose Island beer. In Houston the big stores get ***** when something new comes out. I hate twitter. Local HEB beer guy post stuff at like 6:45 in the morning and then by 7:30 post it is gone. I think he is keeping it

 

Small stores can't compete with the larger ones, so if they want customers they need to provide something the larger stores do not, which in this case is a bigger craft selection.

EDIT: That being said, in some of the smaller places, definitely check the dates! There's a place by me that has a decent selection, but for instance their Souther Tier Live, which I was about to pick up the other night was bottled over a year ago....no thanks!

 

The answer is actually really simple. I used to work for a beer distributor in Southern California Mr. Fraker

Large chain places like bevmo, total wine or any grocery store have a process of getting beer into the store. First the beer has to be approved by someone higher than the store level (generally) to be purchased. After approval the new product has to be entered in the chains inventory tracking system. If the bar code has not be entered into the system at the corporate level it will not scan when delivered and it will not be accepted at the store level. After all is said and done at the store level certain products might not be approved even though the brand is.

Compare that to a hole in the wall liquor store owned by the guy standing at the register. He/She is the end all, be all decider on what to carry in the store. Generally any small liquor store can have a beer rep walk in, fill out a piece of paper and that store can have product delivered right then and there. This gives them the ability to carry the larger variety, but like 1eyed_jack it is important to check the dates. The small liquor stores usually do not pay any attention to bottle dates. This can be advantageous for beer enthusiasts because you can find beers that they just put on the shelf and no one goes there looking for them.

 

I work at a large chain so I'll elaborate a little @BarefootRock 's post. While he is correct, I also have a problem bringing in new products due to margin. Deschutes is a big example. They recently started distro in WI and I had to fight tooth and nail to get Black Butte porter in the system. Why you ask...because porters like Founders and Eddy Fitz make better margin. It's a lot of bullshit to sum it all up!

 

The largest chain in Chicagoland, Binny's, has the largest selection I've ever seen.

 

Agreed - In Chicago no-one can beat the range in the big Binnys stores. I know a few of the beer managers though, and they are empowered to run their stores a bit more independently so don't have the limitations some big stores have in terms of centralized decision making

 

I think it's important here to differentiate between big selections and quality selections. While stores like binnys are great for finding good, established beer, I've always found that hole in the wall places have a better selection of hard to find beers. While I'd imagine that binnys gets some (maybe even more) of these beers, because of high traffic they sell out literally in minutes.

There are also some bigger stores unlike binnys whose business model is primarily centered on quantity rather than quality and who frequently don't have someone really qualified to be managing their beer section.

 

Keep in mind that not all states allow chain stores to sell alcohol, i.e. Maryland (for all intents and purposes).

Total Wine operates here with 2 stores, so that is the only big guy around (they utilize a loophole). It's great for getting some stuff a few dollars off and Utopias at the normal price.

Personally, I can't imagine living in a state where I can get my stuff at Whole Foods, Costco, or Wal-Mart. Personally, I like having individual stores to deal with, they each have their own personality and selection.

 

You might be surprised. There are 2 whole foods within a few miles of my house, and they have quite different selections, and dedicated beer managers so they are a nice option when I just want to get something nice while I am grocery shopping.

In terms of big stuff (limited release, etc...) I still go to the big box Binnys - they have dedicated beer managers who choose what to stock. each store is actually quite different

 

I agree with @pagriley on Whole Foods. Every one I've been to has been pretty solid on craft. Wal-Mart though? Don't even ACT like you are going to bother with stopping in there unless you are just dying to get a deal on Sam Adams. With that said, probably best price on Celebration you can find. When it comes to grocery chains, I cannot complain about the selection at Krogers in our area. While you won't find whalez or hyped releases there, you will find solid ass stuff (FW, Ballast Point, Stone, Rogue, etc.,...) that can save a trip to the bottle shop if you are just in need of quality beer while grocery shopping. We're supposed to get a few Wegmans as well - heard good things about them.

 

May vary by state and distributor. Local places here have more expired stuff of what I buy.

There's shenanigans here where sometimes the big guys are kept in the dark about various releases. I've witnessed a manager on speaker phone with distributor being told XYZ beer isn't available in the market, and this occurred about 30 minutes after I bought some XYZ at a "favored" local place. Total Wine is really hated here.

Price variations can be huge. Last year I saw a $5-ish spread on packs of some items like Hopslam.

 

what about grocery stores? do they act like large chains? I was able to pick up BCBS this year at a schnucks and have gotten hopslam every year.

 

My hope: in the future, we will walk into a store like Kroger and see a beer selection that matches their wine selection.

 

The Giant Eagles(in the "better" areas) are already there., a couple around NE Ohio even have growler stations. Heinen's stores have good selection & incl both singles & growler stations.

 

I like how having "only one" kind of Eclipse is "meh." Some folks would kill to have the selection that almost all Whole Foods I saw when living in CA had. Pliny at a grocery store? Sign us up.

 

Whole Foods in CA has some great selections that match a whole in the wall liquor store that is knowledgable on craft beer.

With that said, I have found, in most instances, that small liquor stores do a better job of moving product (obviously there are some exceptions out there). Every time I go into BevMo, they always sell IPAs that are months old, especially Firestone, Stone, and some other bigger craft breweries that don't sell as quick anymore. @1eyed_jack Super annoying, but then again, should we really be that picky about a two month old Union Jack, not sure.

 

I have found the same thing here in CA, more LA to be exact. The liquor stores sell out so quickly, especially of newer released beers from popular craft breweries.

 

The particular Kroger I had in mind in my earlier post is really getting close to that point. 2 reefer rows of beer and 3/4 of it is craft (sorry BMC!) Plus an endcap of limited and/or seasonals, plus center aisle craft case sales in non-beer aisles. They really have cranked it up to "11". Same amount when compared to wine? No. special little wine room with vintage wines? No. Making a true whole hearted effort to be a go-to beer store? Yes, absolutely.

 

I don't have access to any large chains that sell any semblance of a craft selection, because liquor stores can't sell beer in NY or PA. Wegmans and Weis do carry a modest selection of craft, with Wegmans obviously having more, but it is still nothing compared to the small bottle shops in the area.
I do second the point someone else made about checking dates however; one bottle shop I frequent is in the middle of nowhere, which is nice because you can always find limited releases on the shelves, but fresh beers sit on those shelves just as long, so you have to be careful.